(CNN) - On the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney shook hands with first responders in Chicago, and at the National Guard Association Convention he criticized Pentagon budget cuts which would come with the so-called "fiscal cliff." CNN's Jim Acosta reports.

(CNN) - Assistance to military voters is the best it has ever been, the Pentagon said on Wednesday in rebutting criticism that it is not helping troops navigate the voting process.

"Voting assistance for our absentee military and overseas citizen voters has never been better," said Pam Mitchell, the acting director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which oversees the effort.

(CNN) - The much-anticipated memoir of a Navy SEAL who helped kill Osama bin Laden hits bookshelves Tuesday to an eager audience whose pre-orders have already put the book at No. 1 on Amazon's bestseller list for two weeks.

But there is one group who may not be as eager to see the release of "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden."

(CNN) – Two high-profile governors had vastly different assessments Sunday of who was to blame for the massive cuts to defense spending that are slated to go into effect at the beginning of next year.

The so-called "fiscal cliff," which would force the Pentagon to cut $500 billion from its budgets over the next decade, came about after congressional negotiators failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan last fall. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, blamed the potential cuts on the White House, while Gov. Deval Patrick, Democrat of Massachusetts, said Republicans in Congress were to blame.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Ten days after the military dumped its "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays and lesbians in the military, the Pentagon has issued new rules allowing military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages, but only if allowed by law and the chaplain's beliefs.

"A military chaplain may participate in or officiate any private ceremony, whether on or off a military installation, provided that the ceremony is not prohibited by applicable state and local law," a memo released Friday says. "Further a chaplain is not required to participate in or officiate a private ceremony if doing so would be in variance with the tenets of his or her religion."

(CNN) - The Pentagon is set to certify that the U.S. military is prepared to accept openly gay and lesbian service members, and doing so will not harm military readiness, a U.S. official told CNN on Thursday.

According to the official, who spoke on condition of not being identified, an announcement of that certification - which is required to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy - is likely to come Friday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The raging Washington debate over increasing the debt limit already is foreshadowing perhaps the next budget tussle between the administration and Capitol Hill - a looming fight over cutting military spending.

The Pentagon is the middle of studying how it can meet President Barack Obama's orders to cut $400 billion in spending over the next 12 years - a plan that has raised eyebrows with pro-military Democrat and Republican members of Congress, many of them representing districts with defense contractors or military bases.FULL POST

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The military expects to be ready to implement the repeal of the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy by midsummer, a top Pentagon official said Friday.

Clifford Stanley - the Defense Department under secretary tasked with overseeing the repeal - told members of a House Armed Services subcommittee that the process will not be rushed "because we want to make sure that it's done right."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Trash talk and criticism seems the norm in these days of social networking, talk radio and cable pundits. But now it's spreading to the halls of Capitol Hill and the leadership of the Department of Defense.

Secretary Robert Gates may have started it when commenting on an idea for establishing a no-fly zone over Libya to protect the rebels.FULL POST